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The History of Cinema: 1954

Austria - Yugoslavia

Austria

– The inaugural Goldene Feder (Golden Feather) award is bestowed by film critics upon the director of the year. [ADD]

Benin

– The country’s first film, the 12-minute short, Lumière des homes, is released. [ADD]

Brazil

– The Vera Cruz Film Company ceases production. [ADD]

Egypt

- Omar Sharif makes his film debut opposite Egyptian screen legend Faten Hamama in Youssef Chahine’s Siraa Fil-Wadi (The Blazing Sky).   The couple wed shortly after completion of filming. [ADD]

India

– Ezra Mir’s Pamposh is the first Indian colour film processed entirely within the country. [ADD]

– P. K. Atre’s Marathi film Shyamchi Aai (1953) receives the first President’s Gold Medal for best feature film. [ADD]

– An Indian Film Festival is held in the Soviet Union, where Awaara (1951) is a big hit. [ADD]

– Kwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Munna, the second Indian film without songs, is released. [ADD]

Italy

22/9 -

Federico Fellini’s La Strada is released after premiering at the Venice Film Festival. [ADD]

30/12 -

Luchino Visconti's Senso is released after receiving a lukewarm reception at the Venice Film Festival in September.   An historical romance far removed from Visconti’s neo-realist roots, the film stars Alida Valli and Farley Granger as lovers in 19^th Century Venice. [ADD]

– A new deal with the Motion Picture Export Association of America (MPEA) reduces the number of dubbed films imported from the US to 190 from the majors and 55 from independent producers. [ADD]

Japan

31/3 -

Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho Dayu (Sansho the Bailiff), based on novelist Ogai Mori’s interpretation of an ancient Japanese legend, is released. [ADD]

23/11 -

Kenji Mizoguchi's 17^th Century drama Chikamatsu Monogatari (The Crucified Lovers) is released. [ADD]

Kazakhstan

– Chaken Aimanov’s Poema o lyubvi, the first fiction film produced in Kazakhstan, is released.  [ADD]

Korea

1/2 -

Marilyn Monroe tours the Korean battlefront to entertain the troops fighting there. [ADD]

Kuwait

– The Al-Sharqiah cinema is the first to open in Kuwait.   Seating 1,000 people, it is open-air during the summer and covered with tarpaulin in the winter. [ADD]

Myanmar

– Aw Meinma! (Oh! What a Woman), the directorial debut from writer U Thu Kha, is released. [ADD]

Norway

– The Norwegian Union of Film Workers is founded. [ADD]

Pakistan

– Daud Chand’s Sassi, starring Sabiha Khanum, Sudhir and Asha Posle, is released.   The film screens continuously for almost a year. [ADD]

Paraguay

– Dictator Alfredo Stroessner establishes the ‘Noticiero Nacional’ to make newsreels and documentary largely to glorify his government. [ADD] 

Singapore

– The Nusantara film company closes down after producing about a dozen films. [ADD]

Sweden

4/10 -

Ingmar Bergman's comedy, En Lektion i kärlek (Lesson in Love), starring Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Björnstrand is released. [ADD]

Vietnam

– The communist North Vietnamese government establishes the state-run Vietnamese Feature Film Studio to make documentaries promoting its activities. [ADD]

Yugoslavia

– The first Yugoslav Feature Film Festival takes place in Pula. [ADD]

Other Key Films of 1954

Costa Rica

Elvira  [MORE] [ADD]

Greece

Magiki polis (Magic City) (Nikos Koundouros)  [MORE] [ADD]

Barefoot Battalion (Grigoris Thalassinos) [MORE] [ADD]

Niger

Les maîtres fous (Jean Rouch) [MORE] [ADD]

Pakistan

Salaam [MORE] [ADD]

Salamat [MORE] [ADD]

Philippines

Ifugao (Gerardo de Leon) [MORE] [ADD]

Maalaala Mo Kaya [MORE] [ADD]

Salabusab (Cesar Gallardo)  [MORE] [ADD]

Serbia

In the Heart of Kosmet [MORE] [ADD]

Turkey

Salgin (Ali Ipar) [MORE] [ADD]

The History of Cinema: 1954